Teenaged Ashes and Test debutant Ashton Agar has said that he was 'over the moon' after he was selected for the opening Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.
The first Australian teenager to make his debut in the Ashes since Doug Walters in 1965, Agar, who has been touted as a special talent, has played ten first class games and has been on the fast track since moving from his native Victoria to Western Australia before last summer, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The report further said that Agar, a natural athlete, was briefly in Test contention before the disastrous series in India.
Stating that he found out that he was playing at Trent Bridge two days before the Test, Agar said that he was stunned and 'over the moon' after coach Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh came upto him and told him to call his parents as he was selected in the Ashes squad for the first Test, adding that the news was the best he had ever received in his life.
Agar, who was presented with his Baggy Green cap by Australian legend Glenn McGrath, further said that his selection is everything he wanted from a cricketing point of view, adding that he is going to give his 100 percent to the team and bring the side some useful energy.
Believing that he is a strong attacking spin bowler, Agar also said that he brings something different to the team with his skills as England has a number of right-handed batsmen, although he admitted that he has a lot to learn and that he is the 12th spinner to play for Australia since Shane Warne retired.
However, the report said that Agar is different and special from other players given that he was pitched into an Ashes series at the age of 19,with Lehmann saying that Agar is an outstanding prospect for the team.
Agar's first, floating delivery in Test cricket was punched through the covers for four by Jonathan Trott and he was relieved to have his first outing, in which he conceded 24 runs in seven overs, out of the way.
While Agar has enjoyed a rapid ascent, his fellow bowler Nathan Lyon's career is on a slow burn as he still has not managed to establish himself as Australia's No.1 spinner despite two years of trying, with the report adding that he was dealt with a major blow after being left out of the first Test, for which he had been waiting eagerly.
